site.btaHead of Bulgaria’s 34th Antarctic Expedition Christo Pimpirev, Scientists Connect Live from Antarctica with Sofia

The head of Bulgaria’s 34th Antarctic Expedition, Prof. Christo Pimpirev, the commander of the Bulgarian Antarctic base St. Kliment Ohridski, Kamen Nedkov, microbiologist Snezhana Rusinova-Videva and journalist Zhivko Konstantinov connected live on Friday from Antarctica with an audience at the Central Halls Stage of Kaufland in Sofia. The live link from Sofia was moderated by Kaufland Bulgaria Corporate Communications Manager Dr. Kremena Georgieva and Dragomir Mateev, Deputy Director of the National Centre for Polar Studies.

Pimpirev and Nedkov spoke about the tasks of this year’s expedition and the projects that have been implemented so far.

“The ship has set course for the Antarctic Peninsula and the Argentine base Esperanza, where it will stay for three days. The German team, led by Emil Stanev, will conduct research on ocean currents,” Pimpirev said. He added that this year’s programme also includes projects in bathymetry, monitoring of seismic stations, the participation of a team of scientists from the United Arab Emirates, among others.

Pimpirev also noted progress in putting the new laboratory into operation. “It is something we can be proud of,” he stressed.

According to him, one of the most interesting projects at the beginning of the season was carried out by two marine biologists from the United States, who studied the behaviour of leopard seals.

He also spoke about amateur projects by some of the scientists, including that of Ivaylo Nachev, who has set up a radio station at the Bulgarian base. “He installed antennas so that we can connect with other amateur radio operators,” Pimpirev said.

Nedkov said that another group of Bulgarian polar explorers is expected to arrive in Antarctica later in February. This will be followed by winterizing the equipment and buildings at the base, and in early March the last group will leave the island.

The Bulgarian Antarctic team also answered questions from the audience in Sofia. They explained that temperatures at the Bulgarian base are not extremely low, around 5C. Nedkov emphasized that it is not the low temperatures but the strong winds that pose the main challenge for polar researchers.

Pimpirev noted that Antarctica is not a place only for scientists, it is also for people of the arts, because it is a continent of all humanity.

The Bulgarian Antarctic Institute and Kaufland are the initiators of the live connection with the Bulgarian polar explorers, who are currently at the Bulgarian base on Livingston Island.

The programme in Sofia continued with a screening of Zhivko Konstantinov’s latest film, Expedition Antarctica, which presents Antarctica through the author’s lens, bringing together striking footage, Bulgaria’s scientific presence on the continent and the human stories behind the great journey.

The Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) departed for Antarctica from Varna (on the Black Sea) on November 7, 2025. After a month-long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the ship arrived at the Argentine naval base in Mar del Plata on December 13.

BTA has had a national press club on board the ship since 2022 and another on Livingston Island since February 2024. These are added to the news agency’s other 41 national press clubs (33 in Bulgaria, seven abroad in neighbouring countries and in nations with large Bulgarian communities, and one mobile National Book Press Club). BTA's Director General Kiril Valchev announced ahead of the fourth voyage to Antarctica on November 7, 2025 that the national news agency would send a special correspondent in January-February 2026.

He said the press clubs exist thanks to the generous support of RSV 421 and Bulgaria’s St Kliment Ohridski Base, which provide the necessary facilities. 

The news items of BTA's special correspondents on RSV 421 and Antarctica are freely available in Bulgarian and English on the agency's website. They can be used free of charge by all media, with attribution to BTA. Valchev recalled that thanks to its correspondents, the news agency appears among the top results on Google when searching for the phrase “Antarctica correspondent”.